Hubbard's helicopter company sold for $160 million
Helicopters (NZ, owned by South Canterbury Finance, has been sold to a Canadian company for $160 million - despite having ebitda of just $28 million.
Helicopters (NZ) has entered into a sale and purchase agreement to sell the assets of Canadian Helicopters Group for $160 million on a debt free basis.
HNZ is New Zealand's biggest helicopter company and was owned by South Canterbury Finance, which is in receivership.
Canadian Helicopters (CHL), listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, is the largest helicopter transportation services company operating in Canada and is also one of the largest in the world based on the size of its fleet.
With more than 35 base locations across Canada, CHL provides helicopter services to a broad range of sectors, including infrastructure maintenance, utilities, oil and gas, mining, forestry, construction and emergency medical services and provides military support.
HNZ's head office is in Nelson and the company has 11 bases to support operations across New Zealand, Australia, Laos and Cambodia. HNZ also has a corporate office in Perth to support its Australian operations.
HNZ has 181 employees, a fleet of 33 helicopters, and revenue of NZ$83 million and ebitda of NZ$28 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2010. As of June 30, 2010, HNZ's 33 helicopters had an appraised value of NZ$137 million.
Its client base includes Shell Todd Oil Services, Australia Worldwide Exploration, OMV Maari Field, Origin Energy Resources, Rio Tinto, the US Department of Defence, the Australian National Aerial Firefighting Centre, ESSO, and National Antarctic programmes.
The sale price will be welcome news for the government looking to claw back the $1.6 billion paid out to depositors of South Canterbury Finance following its collapse last August.
The sale is subject to a number of conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to complete in the coming months.
Niko Kloeten
Wed, 13 Apr 2011
Wed, 13 Apr 2011
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
Hubbard's helicopter company sold for $160 million
13849